Dial racking mechanism



Dec. 25, 1956 c. w. MINTON ETAL 2,775,106

DIAL RACKING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 16, 1953 INVENTOR c.14 M/NTON J. a. OHARA ATTORNEY Dec. 25, 1956 c. w. MINTON ETAL 2,775,106

DIAL RACKING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 16, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR C.W M/NTON J G. O'HARA.

ATTORNEY Dec. 25, 1956 c. w. MINTON ETAL 2,775,106

DIAL BACKING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 16, 1953 i 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORW M/N TON C. J G. QHARA ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,775,1hh PatentedDec. 25, 1956 Fine DIAL RACKING MECHANISM Clarence W. Minton, Nashville,and John G. OHara, Lyle, Tenn assignors to May Hosiery Mills, Nashville,Tenn., a corporation of Tennessee Application September 16, 1953, SerialNo. 380,502 11 Claims. (Cl. 66 -24) A knitting machine of the characterindicated includes a rotatable cylinder and dial and in accordance withthe present invention mechanism is incorporated for racking the dialahead and angular distance as required in order to produce a non-runningwelt at the beginning ,ofthe ribbed top of the sock.

Heretofore various structures have been proposed "and utilized forracking the dials of knitting machines, but

such structures have not been completely satisfactory-forv variousreasons including their complexity, the difficulty of obtaining andmaintaining their accurate and proper adjustmentin order to have properuniform racking of the dial upon each subsequent operation of the same,

with consequent greater and sometimes prohibitive cost of manufactureand maintenance as well'as excessive loss of knitting time,

It will beunderstood that the present invention is ap: plicable to manyand different types of knitting machines but for purposes ofillustration and withoutrestriction,

the invention is illustrated and described in conjunction with aknitting machine-of the type illustrated in the patent to W. L. Smith,Jr., et al., No. 2,074,973, of March 23, 1937. Only so much of theknitting machine is illustrated and described as is necessary to afforda clear understanding of the invention, that is, the mech anism forracking the dial and the control means there: for, and reference is hadto this patent for any further illustration and description ,of thebasic knitting machine.

Briefly stated, the apparatus of this invention contemplates theapplication thereof to a knitting machine which for purpose ofillustration only, may be of the type:

disclosed in the above mentioned patent, The dial driv,- ing mechanismis modified to the extent of incorporatinga differential gearingassembly, the position of the dial with relation to the cylinder beingcontrolled by adjusting the position of the carrier in the differentialgearing.

.Simple control mechanism, in the form of a cam lobe added to one of thecontrol drums of the knitting machine, a cam follower for contactingsuch cam lobe, and linkage mechanism for connecting the cam follower toa cam shaft, serves to transmit motion caused'by contact of the cam lobewith the cam follower to two or morecams fixed to the cam shaft andengaging cam followers mounted on the carrier associated with thedifferential gearing. These latter cam followers may be very accuratelyadjusted in order to control the position ofthe carrier and consequentlythe position, of the dial Withrelation to the cylinder in accordancewith which cam on the cam shaft is in engagement with the associated camfollowers on the carrier.

The normal knitting operations of the machine are in no way affected bythe modifications necessary to incorporate the dial racking mechanism ofthis invention and such mechanism is only utilized during the knittingof the pull top and the beginning of the welt which may compriseapproximately two courses of the ribbed top. At the completion of thesetwo or more courses, the dial is racked back to its original position inorder to complete knitting of the ribbed top which may be of any desiredpattern, but which in this application is disclosed as a 2 x 2 ribbedknit, or in other words, with every alternate two stitches knit on thedial needles a like number of stitches are knit on the cylinder needles.During this operation of course, the cylinder needles located directlybelow the dial needles remain inoperative. This ribbed knittingoperation is conventional and therefore further description thereof isconsidered unnecessary.

An object of the invention is to apply to a transfer knitting machineutilizing a rotating cylinder and dial, mechanism to rack the dial withrelation to the cylinder an angular distance as required to produce thedesired rack welt.

Another object of the invention is to incorporate in a transfer knittingmachine having a rotating cylinder and dial, dial racking mechanismwhich involves only slight modification of the conventional knittingmachine.

Another object of the invention is the provision in a transfer knittingmachine utilizing a rotating cylinder and dial and in which mechanism isprovided to rack the dial with relation to the cylinder in order to knita non-running welt in the ribbed top of a sock, racking mechanismincluding control means which may be accurately adjust-edto obtain thedesired angular movement of the dial and which adjustment may bemaintained without variation over long periods.

A further object of the invention is the provision in a transferknitting machine utilizing a rotating cylinder and dial and in whichmechanism is provided to rack the dial with relation to the cylinder inorder to knit a nonrunning welt in the ribbed top of a sock, mechanismof more rugged construction in order to minimize breakdowns andconsequent loss of knitting time.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a knitting machine with the dial rackingmechanism of the present invention Fig. 3, a fragmentary elevationalview showingin detail a portion of the control system for the dialracking mechanism;

Fig. 4, a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the dial drivingmechanism and the dial racking mechanism incorporated therewith;

Fig. 5, a top plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6, a fragmentary side elevational viewwith parts in section forgreater clarity and showing the dial racking portion of the knittingmachine and the manner of attach- 3 ment of a portion of the controlmeans for the dial racking mechanism to such knitting machine;

Fig. 9, a fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the knittingmachine shown in Fig. 8 and with parts in section for greater clarity;

Fig. 10, a diagrammatic view showing the relative positions of thecylinder needles and dial needles during the knitting of a 2 x 2 ribbedtop; and

Fig. 11, a diagrammatic view similar to Fig. 10 and showing the relativepositions of the cylinder needles and dial needles after racking of thedial and during knitting of the non-running welt.

With continued reference to the drawing there is shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4and 5 a knitting machine including a base 10, an intermediate frame 11and a base plate 12 carried by the frame 11. Supported on the base plate12 by suitable bearings is a cylinder 13 rotatably driven by means, notshown, and directly above the cylinder 13 there is disposed a dial 14which serves to carry and operate dial needles operating in conjunctionwith needles carried by the cylinder 13 during knitting of the pull top,non-running welt and ribbed top of a sock.

The dial 14 is mounted on a shaft 15 which .in turn is carried by abracket 16 extending from an upright column 17 suitably secured to thebase plate 12.

The knitting machine is further provided with suitable means forsupporting one or more cones of yarn 18 and yarn guiding means 19 (Fig.l) is supported by a standard 20 secured to the base plate 12 forguiding yarn to the knitting needles. The knitting machine also has theconventional pattern control .mechanism and in the present instance,suitable transfer mechanism for transferring stitches upon completion ofthe ribbed top from the dial needles to the previously inoperativecylinder needles in order to complete the leg and foot portions of thesock on the cylinder needles only, but since this conventional patternand transfer control mechanism forms no part of the instant invention nodetailed description thereof is believed necessary or desirable.

A shaft 21 extends upwardly through the column or housing 17 and isrotatably supported therein by antifriction bearings 22. At the upperend of shaft 21 there is provided a spiral gear 23 which meshes with aspiral gear 24 secured to a sleeve 25 rotatably mounted on a shaft 26which in turn is rotatably mounted in bearings 27 carried by bracket 16.Secured to one end of shaft 26 is a spiral gear 28 which meshes with aspiral gear 29 secured on the upper end of shaft 15 which carries thedial 14.

Also secured to the sleeve 25 at the end opposite the spiral gear 24 isa bevel gear 30 which meshes with diametrically opposed bevel pinions 31and 32 rotatably mounted on a carrier 33 which in turn is rotatablysupported on the shaft 26. Fixed to the shaft 26 and meshing with thebevel pinions 31 and 32 is a bevel gear 34 secured in position on theshaft 26 by a set screw 35 or other suitable means. The bevel gears 30and 34 secured to the sleeve 25 and to the shaft 26 respectively andmeshing bevel pinions 31 and 32, rotatably mounted on carrier 33,provide a differential gear transmission, the purpose and operation ofwhich will be later described.

Carrier 33 is provided with an elongated downwardly extending portion 36in one side of which is provided a plurality of substantially parallelgrooves 37 and 38.

Pivotally mounted within groove 37 on a pin 39 is a cam follower 40having a forwardly extending cam engaging nose 41. Pivotally mounted inthe groove 38 on the pin 39 is a second cam follower 42 having aforwardly extending cam engaging nose 43. In order to adjust theposition of cam follower 40 with relation to the carrier 33 an adjustingscrew 44 is threadedly received in the lower portion 36 of the carrier33 and projects into the groove 37 into engagement with the rear surfaceof the cam follower 40. Similarly the cam follower 42 may be adjustedwith respect to the carrier 33 by an adjusting screw 4 threadedlyreceived in the lower portion 36 of the carrier 33 and projects into thegroove 38 into engagement with the rear surface of cam follower 42.

With particular reference to Figs. 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 a cam shaft 46 ispivotally mounted on a bracket 47 by means of a threaded stud 48 orother suitable means. Bracket 47 is supported by a bracket 49 which, asshown in Figs. 8 and 9, is supported from a stud 50 carried by housing17. A shaft 51 serves to carry dial cam control mechanism 52 as well asbell crank levers 53 connected by links 54 to rocker arms 55 having camfollowers 56 which engage earns 57 on a drum 58.

The cam shaft 46 is provided with a low cam 59 adapted to engage the camfollower 42 pivotally mounted on the carrier 33 and the shaft 46 also isprovided with a high cam 60 adapted to engage the cam follower 40pivotally mounted on the carrier 33. Additional cams and cam followersmay be provided if desired.

In order to control the position of cams 59 and 60 an arm 61 is securedto the cam shaft 46 and is connected by a pivot 62 to a link 63. Thelink 63 is connected by a pivot 64 to one arm 65 of a bell crank lever66 mounted on a pivot 67 on a bracket 68 secured to the base plate 12 byscrew threaded fastening means or the like 69. The other arm 70 of thebell crank lever 66 is connectedby a pivot 71 to a downwardly extendinglink 72 which, as best shown in Fig. 3, is pivotally connected at itsopposite end 73 with a rocker arm 74 mounted by a pivot 75 on the frame10 of the knitting machine, the rocker arm 74 being provided at itsopposite end with a cam follower 76. The drum 58 is provided on one endwith an annular flange 77 having secured on the periphery thereof a cam78 which serves to engage the cam follower 76 for a purpose hereinafterdescribed.

In Fig. 10 there is diagrammatically illustrated the relative positionsof the cylinder needles and dial needles during the ribbed knittingoperation and in this figure lines 79 represent the operative cylinderneedles and lines 80 the inoperative cylinder needles. Lines 81represent the dial needles all of which are in operation during knittingof the ribbed top. Upon completion of the ribbed top, the dial needles81 are withdrawn from operation and all of the cylinder needles 79 and80 are brought into operation to flat-knit the leg and foot portions ofthe sock.

In Fig. 11 there is diagrammatically illustrated the relative positionsof the cylinder and dial needles during knitting of the non-running weltat which time as a result of the racking of the dial by the mechanismabove described, the dial needles 81 occupy a position between theoperative cylinder needles rather than directly above the inoperativecylinder needles 80 as shown in Fig. 10. The operation of the dialracking mechanism to position the dial needles 81 as shown in Fig. 11,will now be described.

T he shaft 21 extending upwardly through the column or housing 17 isdriven in a normal manner from the knitting machine and as a result,meshing engagement of the spiral gear 23 with the spiral gear 24 causesrotation of the sleeve 25 and the bevel gear 30 carried thereby. Thebevel gear 30 drives the bevel pinions 31 and 32 and since the carrier33 upon which pinions 31 and 32 are mounted, is held against rotation onthe shaft 26, the bevel gear 34 will be driven in a direction oppositeto that of the bevel gear 30. Since the bevel gear 34 is fixed to theshaft 26, rotation of such bevel gear 34 will rotate the shaft 15 anddial 14 carried thereby by means of spiral gears 28 and 29.

After the completion of the knitting of the toe-portion ing the link 72downwardly. This movement of the link 72 serves to pivot the bell cranklever 66 clockwise (in' t e-e wer hecam h fi it fisounter lockw semevemstof h am, sha t, deserves o m ve w th, relati n to am-f ow r tzfflanddue maimed oflthe cam, 59, this] movement results in ihe; clockwisemevement of the carrier 33 and pinion gears 31 and 32 carried; thereby.about the shaftZtS, (Fig. 6); Continued rotational movement of the camshaft4d willfres ult in bringingthe surface. of the cam 60, intoengagement with the npseAl of the cam follower 40, thus retaining the.

Conseqnentlythedial 14 and needles carried therebylwillt be mov edoneand one-third this angular distance. While this operation hasrbeendescribed with the gear 30 and sleeve 2 ,at rest, obviously-the, samerelative rnovernent of the shaft 26 and dial 14 will take placeeventhough,

thegear rotating while angular displacement of the carrier, 33, occursandthe resulting movementof its dial needles-will of course depend onthe gear ratio involved.

The dial 14:,remains in its angularly displaced position,

with the-dial needles 81 between the cylinder needles 179 and 8 0, asshown in Fig. 11, until the pull top and approxi mately, two courses, ofthe ribbed top are completed to knit a non-running welt. At this time,the drum 5,8Iwill again rotate, to move the cam 78 out of engagementwith the can followerlfi, thus permitting counterclockwise pivotal:

movement of the rocker arm 14about the pivot point7 l as viewed in Fig.3, to cause upward movement of the link 72, and consequent clockwisemovement of the cam shaft 4 6, to movethe cam 60 out of engagement withthe nose 4L of the carn follower, 40 thereby permitting the carrier,

33 to move counter-clockwise about the shaft 26, to its originalpositionas illustrated in Fig. 6, with the nose 4310f cam follower 42 inengagement with the surface f: 5

Thispermits angular displacement of the dial 14 to its original positionwith thedial needles 81 located between the operative cylinder needles79 and above the inoperative cylinder needles 80 to permit conventionalknitting of the ribbed top. The exact position of the dial needlesSlywith, respect to the cylinder needles 79 and 80during knitting of thepull top and welt and with the dial in racked,

position is very accurately controlled by the adjusting screws 44 and45which position the camfollowers 49 and;42 therebydetermining the exactangular position of the carrier 33: and dial 14 when the cam followers40 and;4 2 are in engagement with either the cam 59 or cam 60 as thecase may be. i This adjustment may be made for any desired conditionandthe adjustment will be accurately maintained until such time as it isdesired to utilize a different relative position of the dial needles 81.

Obviously the differential gear transmission andcontrol mechanism may beof extremely rugged construction, which will provide accurate control ofthe relative position of the dial and cylinder needles and which willprevent the necessity for frequent adjustment as well as breakdownsnecessitating loss of knitting time with consequent increased costs ofproduction.

It,wil1 be understood that the above described dial racking, mechanismmay be conveniently applied to, or incorporalfid, in, conventionalknitting machines by the interposition of the above describeddifferential gear transmission illythflflllfll driving mechanism and byadding (the necessary cam to the drum 58 togetherwith the control leverand linkage system for moving the carrier 33, therebyadjusting-theposition of the dial needles relative to the cylinderneedles. t

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various r and th iqlsh he ink 61 a d a m. 61. erves to changes may bernade in the inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore thein; ventionis not limited by that which is shown inthe drawing anddescribed in the specification, but only as indi- 5 cated in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an automatic transfer knitting machine for the continuous knittingof socks, separated by a pull top and each sock having a non-runningwelt, a ribbed top and 1p plain or ribbed knit leg and foot portion,dial racking mechanism comprising a sleeve rotatably mounted on the dialdrive shaft of said knitting machine, gear means for rotatably drivingsaid sleeve, a bevel gear fixed to said sleeve, a carrier rotatablymounted on said drive 15 shaft, oppositely disposed bevel pinionsrotatably mounted on said carrier and meshing with said bevel gear, asecond bevel gear fixed to said drive shaft and meshing with saidpinions, said first and second bevel gears, said carrier and saidpinions providing a differential gear transmission, an elongated armextending from said carrier, a plurality of carn followers pivotallymounted on said arm,

screw threaded means for adjusting the position of each cam followerrelative to said arm, a cam shaft rotatably mounted on said machine, alow cam on said cam shaft for engaging one of said cam followers, 21high cam on said cam shaft for engaging another of said cam followers, adrum on said machine driven in timed relation to the operation thereof,a control cam on said drum and a control lever and linkage systemconnected to said cam shaft and operable by said control cam to engageeither said high or low cam with the associated cam follower wherebyupon engagement of said low cam with the a'ssociated cam follower thedial and needles carried thereby will be in position for knitting saidribbed, top and upon engagement of said high cam with the associatedfollower-said carrier will be moved angularly and through i said pinionswill move the dial relatively to the cylinder to knit said pull top andnon-running welt.

2. In an automatic transfer knitting machine for the 40 continuousknitting of socks separated by a pull top and each sock having anon-running welt, a ribbed top and a plain knit leg and foot portion, adial racking mechanism comprising a sleeve rotatably mounted on the dialdrive shaft of said knitting machine, gear means for rotatably drivingsaid sleeve, a bevel gear fixed to said angular position of said arm andsaid carrier on said drive shaft, a drum on said machine driven in timedrelation to the operation thereof, a control cam onsaid drum and acontrol lever and linkage system connected to said cam shaft andoperable by said control cam to engage said cam means with theassociated cam follower means,

whereby said cam means engages the associated cam follower means in oneposition in which the dial and needles carried thereby are position forknitting said ribbed top and upon movement of said cam means to a secondposition said carrier is moved angularly and through said pinions movesthe dial relatively to the cylinder to knit said pull top andnon-running Welt.

3. In an automatic transfer knitting machine for the continuous knittingof socks separated by a pull top and, each sock having a non-runningwelt, a ribbed top and said means, a carrier rotatably mounted on saiddrive shaft, diametrically disposed bevel pinions rotatably mounted .onsaid carrier and meshing with said bevel gear, a second bevel gear fixedto said drive shaft and meshing with said pinions, said first and secondbevel gears, said carrier and said pinions providing a differential geartransmission, an arm extending from said carrier, cam follower meanspivotally mounted on said arm, a cam shaft rotatably mounted on saidmachine, cam means on said cam shaft for engaging said cam followermeans and varying the angular position of said arm and said carrier onsaid drive shaft, a drum on said machine driven in timed relation to theoperation thereof, a control cam on said'drum and a control lever andlinkage system connected to said cam shaft and operable by said controlcam to engage said cam means with the associated cam follower means,whereby said cam means engages the associated cam follower means in oneposition in which the dial and needles carried thereby are in positionfor knitting said ribbed top and upon movement of said cam means to asecond position said carrier is moved angularly and through said pinionsmoves the dial relatively to the cylinder to knit said pull top andnon-running welt.

4. In an automatic transfer knitting machine for the continuous knittingof socks separated by a pull top and each sock having a non-runningwelt, a ribbed top and a plain or ribbed knit leg and foot portion, dialracking mechanism comprising means rotatably mounted on the dial driveshaft of said knitting machine, gear means for rotatably driving saidmeans, a differential gear transmission, a carrier of said transmissionmounted on said drive shaft and rotatably carrying opposed gears of saidtransmission, one of the gears of said transmission being attached tosaid means rotatably mounted on the dial drive shaft, another of thegears of said transmission being attached to said drive shaft, camfollower means extending from said carrier, cam means mounted on saidmachine for engaging said cam follower means and varying the angularposition of said carrier on said drive shaft, a drum on said machinedriven in timed relation to the operation thereof, a control cam on saiddrum and a control lever and linkage system connected to said cam meansand operable by said control cam to engage said cam means with theassociated cam follower means, whereby said cam means engages theassociated earn follower means in one position of which the dial andneedles carried thereby are in position for knitting said ribbed top andupon movement of said cam means to a second position said carrier ismoved angularly and through said transmission moves the dial relative tothe cylinder to knit said pull top and non-running welt.

5. In a knitting machine of the type in which mechanism is provided fordriving a cylinder and a dial in synchronism, means for varying theangular relation between the cylinder and the dial, said meanscomprising a member rotatably mounted on the dial drive shaft of saidmachine, gear means for driving said member, a bevel gear fixed to saidmember, a carrier rotatably mounted on said drive shaft, bevel pinionsrotatably mounted on said carrier and meshing with said bevel gear, asecond ibevel gear fixed to said drive shaft and meshing with saidpinions, said first and second bevel gears, said carrier and saidpinions providing a differential gear transmission, =cam follower meansextending from said carrier, cam means mounted on said machine forengaging said cam follower means and varying the angular position ofsaid carrier on said drive shaft, whereby said cam means may be operatedto move said cam follower means to vary the angular position of saidcarrier in order to rack said dial with respect to said cylinder.

6. The structure of claim 5, in which the cam fol-lower means comprises.a plurality of cam followers independently and pivotally mounted onsaid carrier, and said cam means comprises a low cam for engaging one ofsaid cam means is employed for transmitting rotation along inde-'pendent power trains to said first and second members,

said mechanism being embodied in a portion of the power.

train to the second member and comprising a sleeve rotatably mounted onthe drive shaft to said second member, a beveled gear fixed to saidsleeve, a carrier rotatably mounted on said drive shaft, bevel pinionsrotatably mounted on said carrier and meshing with said bevel gear, asecond bevel gear fixed to said drive shaft and meshing with saidpinions, said first and second bevel gears, said carrier and saidpinions providing a differential gear transmission, and means forvarying the angular position of said carrier on said drive shaft.

8. The structure of claim 7, said means for varying the angular positionof said carrier on said drive shaft comprising cam follower meansmounted on said carrier, cam means mounted adjacent to said cam followermeans, and means for actuating said cam means in order to vary theangular relation of said carrier on said drive shaft.

9. In a machine for the knitting of socks, dial racking mechanismcomprising a differential gear transmission mounted in the power trainto the dial drive shaft of saidknitting machine, said transmissioncomprising opposed bevel gears, one connected to drive said drive shaftand the other being rotatably driven from said machine, a carrier, andone or more bevel pinions rotatably mounted on the carrier and meshingwith the gears, whereby said di-al may be racked by varying the angularposition of said carrier.

10. In a machine for the knitting of socks, dial rack- :ing mechanismcomprising a diiferential gear transmission mounted in the power trainto the dial drive shaft of said knitting machine, said transmissioncomprising opposed bevel'gears, one connected to drive said drive shaftand the other being rotatably driven from said machine, a carrier, andone or more bevel pinions rotatably mounted on the carrier and meshingwith the gears, and means for varying the angular position of saidcarrier whereby said dial may be racked.

11. In a machine for the knitting of socks, dial racking mechanismcomprising a differential gear transmission mounted in the power trainto the dial drive shaft of said knitting machine, said transmissioncomprising opposed bevel gears, one connected to drive said drive shaftand the other being rotatably driven from said machine, a carrier, and apair of oppositely disposed bevel pinions rotatably mounted on thecarrier and meshing with the gears, and means for varying the angularposition of said carrier with respect to said drive shaft, said meanscomprising cam follower means mounted on said carrier, cam means mountedadjacent to said cam follower means, and means for actuating said cammeans.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS805.612 Wildman Nov. 28, 1905 "1,904,888 :Smith et al. Apr. 18, 19331,946,506 Swanson et al. Feb. 13, 1934 2,255,068 Lawson et al. Sept. 9,1941 2,738,661 St. Pierre Mar. 20, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 10,735 GreatBritain of 19-10 79,958 Germany Mar. 1, 1895

